The project team was very active in proposing and promoting the idea of changing the Law on Higher Education in such a way as to allow better collaboration between R&D Institutes and HEIs in Serbia. Amendments to LHE were adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in September 2014, including a paragraph dealing with this subject (page 4, article 18). In such a way a door was opened towards the introduction of Doctoral Schools, as stated in the Proposal. This result ensures high sustainability of overall Project results.

Along the same line, the academic staff of RODOS participated actively in 2015 in the preparation of Amendments to the Law on Scientific Research. Doctoral studies were treated in two paragraphs of the document. These amendments were accepted by the National Assembly December 29th, 2015.

Activities encompassed analogous amendments to the Strategy of Research and Development of Serbia, according to the Work plan. A draft was formulated by a Working Group, and adopted at the meeting in Novi Sad on the May 7th, 2015. The text gives a vision of the overall development of doctoral studies, contributing to a faster technological development and improvement of culture and preservation of the national identity. The final text of the Strategy on Scientific and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2016 – 2020 “Research for Innovation” (in Serbian Strategija razvoja naučnog i tehološkog razvoja Srbije za period od 2016. do 2020. godine “Istraživanja za inovacije”) was adopted on March 3rd, 2016 by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, including the text proposed directly by RODOS.

Based in an initiative of RODOS, Doctoral Schools are incorporated in the final version of the Action Plans of the Strategy of Education, adopted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia on January 31st, 2015. This achievement (pages 36-38 in the Action Plans) was an important prerequisite for all actions within the Project.